Jonathon Porritt on Nuclear and Hydrogen

Posted: 17th March 2021

Jonathon Porritt: Don’t believe hydrogen and nuclear hype – they can’t
get us to net zero carbon by 2050. Now that the whole world seems to be
aligned behind the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the nuclear
industry is straining every sinew to present itself as an invaluable ally
in the ambitious aim. Energy experts remain starkly divided on whether or
not we can reach this global net zero target without nuclear power, but
regardless, it remains a hard sell for pro-nuclear enthusiasts. Hydrogen
hype has become all the rage over the last 18 months, with some offering up
this “clean energy technology”, as government officials insist on
describing it, as the answer to all our net zero prayers. For those prayers
to be answered, there will need to be a complete revolution in the way in
which hydrogen is produced. As it is, 98% of the 115m tonnes used globally
is “grey hydrogen”, made from natural gas or coal, that emits around
830m tonnes of CO2 per annum – 2% of total global greenhouse gas
emissions. Beyond that, there’s a tiny amount of so-called “blue
hydrogen” – essentially grey hydrogen but with its CO2 emissions
captured and stored – and an even tinier amount of “green hydrogen”
from electrolysing water, both of which are much more expensive than the
climate-wrecking grey hydrogen. The gulf between that current reality, one
rarely mentioned by hydrogen enthusiasts, and the prospect of readily
available and affordable green hydrogen that could help us get to net zero,
is absolutely vast. Don’t get me wrong: we will indeed need significant
volumes of green hydrogen and it’s good that the government has set an
ambitious target for 2030, in the hope that this will significantly reduce
the costs of electrolysis to create it. But we need to be clear about what
that green hydrogen should be used for: not for electricity; not for
heating homes and non-domestic buildings; and not for cars, where electric
vehicles will always be better. Instead we will need it for what are called
the “hard-to-abate” sectors: for steel – replacing carbon-intensive
coking coal – cement and shipping.

Guardian 16th March 2021

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/16/hydrogen-nuclear-net-zero-carbon-renewables